The hottest gadget of the moment – the Apple iPad is now available in Europe and Asia and fans mobbed Apple Inc stores across the continents on the first day of sale outside the US. Shoppers queued all night to grab the coveted tablet computer and long lines of eager buyers could be seen on the streets of London, Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo.

After having sold a million iPads in the United States in a month after its debut, Apple delayed the international launch due to heavy demand. The iPad is now available in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Britain, and Japan. With Apple generating three-fifths of its revenue outside the US, the iPad’s international debut will mark a new milestone.

Hundreds lined up in front of the Apple store in Frankfurt, Germany as early as 3am and about 1200 people lined up in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. A Madrid store sold out its iPads in less than three hours.

The iPad is a larger version of the Apple’s iPhone. It can be used to send e-mails, and as an electronic reader, which could turn out to be potential savior to help the falling newspaper industry. Both versions of the tablet and all configurations are now available. Purchasers can now choose between an iPad with or without 3G cellular-wireless access and opt for 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB of internal storage.

Apple plans to introduce the iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July, this year.